Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, natural and organic food retailer Whole Foods Market (WFM) has earned a respected four-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Whole Foods and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Whole Foods facts
Headquarters (Founded) |
Austin, Texas (1978) |
Market Cap |
$16.3 billion |
Industry |
Food retail |
Trailing-12-Month Revenue |
$12.2 billion |
Management |
Co-Founder/Co-CEO John Mackey |
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) |
13.3% |
Cash/Debt |
$926.0 million / $25.0 million |
Dividend Yield |
0.9% |
Competitors |
Kroger (KR 0.56%) |
On CAPS, 89% of the 5,052 members who have rated Whole Foods believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.
Just last week, one of those Fools, TempAllegro, tapped Whole Foods as a particularly tasty bargain opportunity:
If you care about what is in your food or are trying to avoid something specific like wheat gluten, Whole Foods Market is your store. If you care about maintaining traditional ways of farming or fishing, such as long-line salmon fishing, Whole Foods customers help keep those ways alive. And if you just enjoy a great shopping experience for food, Whole Foods has got to be it, period. ...
The stock has been unfairly punished after its Feb 2013 earnings report. There is no comparable growth story in the food retailer space, and with building more stores not even touching international plans yet, can you spell "L-O-N-G Runway"?
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